Several women's organizations yesterday released a list of legislative candidates they deem friendly or unfriendly to issues relating to women.
"A panel of judges at the Awakening Foundation, after consulting with other women's organizations, has come up with a list of recommended candidates and a list of candidates to boycott," foundation chairwoman Fan Yun (范雲) said.
The groups' main criteria in compiling the recommendation list are whether lawmakers worked to promote legislation enhancing gender equality and women's rights or participated in relevant movements. Lawmakers with records of discriminatory statements were put on the boycott list, she said.
The top five candidates on the group's recommendation list are Huang Shu-ying (黃淑英) and Yang Fan-wan (楊芳婉) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Hsu Chung-hsiung (徐中雄) and Wang Yu-ting (王昱婷) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) of the Taiwan Solidarity Union.
All five are serving lawmakers who were the main advocates behind amendments to the Gender Equality Employment Law (性別平等工作法), Domestic Violence Prevention Act (家庭暴力防治法), Sexual Harassment Prevention Law (性騷擾防治法) and sections in the Civil Code related to women's and children's rights, the group said.
KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) and independent legislator Shen Chih-hwei (沈智慧) also received commendations from the group because of their efforts in pushing for legislation concerning women's rights.
First-time candidates Chen Man-li (陳曼麗), Peng Yen-wen (彭渰雯) and Wang Fang-ping (王芳萍) of the Green Party Taiwan, and Annie Lee (李安妮) of the Taiwan Solidarity Union were also commended for their active participation in the women's rights movement.
The DPP's Tsai Chi-fang (蔡啟芳), Lin Chun-mo (林重謨), Liao Pen-yen (廖本煙) and Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進) were put on the boycott list for their discriminatory statements against women, Fan said.
"From the lists we can see that many of the women-friendly candidates are from smaller parties, while many of the gender-unfriendly lawmakers are from the nation's two major parties," Fan said. "We therefore would like to urge voters to give smaller parties a chance to play a key role in the legislature."
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,